Accelerated recovery after a data disaster

ABSTRACT

According to embodiments of the present invention, a metadata file is transferred from the first system to the second system and a database on the second system is initialized based on the metadata file. An image, including information of the first system to be restored, is transferred from the first system to the second system, and restoration of the information to the second system based on the image is initiated. Prior to completion of the restoration, one or more log files indicating actions performed on the first system relating to the information to be restored is transferred from the first system to the initialized database on the second system. In response to completion of the restoration, the actions of the log files are performed to synchronize the restored data on the second system with the first system.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/626,210, entitled “ACCELERATED RECOVERY AFTER A DATA DISASTER” andfiled Feb. 19, 2015, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Present invention embodiments relate to disaster recovery, and morespecifically, to accelerated recovery after a data disaster event.

High Availability and Disaster Recovery (HADR) solutions are commonlyused to protect against unexpected outages. Systems deploying HADRgenerally involve a primary system and a stand-by system. In the eventof a disaster on the primary site, the stand-by system provides completefunctionality of the primary system. Techniques such as log replicationmay be used to efficiently keep the primary and stand-by systemssynchronized. Initializing a stand-by system or re-establishing astand-by system after a disaster event can be time consuming, especiallywhen data volumes are in the terabyte (TB) or petabyte (PB) range.

For example, databases may have up to 6 TB or more of storage, and maygenerate and archive 500 GB of log file data daily—with up to 200 GB oflog file data generated in a single hour. Accordingly, in the event thatthe primary database is lost, the stand-by database may function as theprimary database. In typical cases involving large databases, it maytake more than a week to recover (re-establish the stand-by database)due to the size of the database as well as the amount of log filesgenerated during the recovery process.

SUMMARY

According to embodiments of the present invention, a metadata file istransferred from a first system to a second system and a database on thesecond system is initialized based on the metadata file. An image,including information of the first system to be restored, is transferredfrom the first system to the second system, and restoration of theinformation to the second system based on the image is initiated. Priorto completion of the restoration, one or more log files indicatingactions performed on the first system relating to the information to berestored is transferred from the first system to the initializeddatabase on the second system. In response to completion of therestoration, the actions of the log files are performed on the secondsystem to synchronize the restored data with the first system.

These and other aspects, features and embodiments of the presentinvention will be understood with reference to the drawing figures andthe detailed description herein, and will be realized by way of thevarious elements and combinations particularly pointed out in theappended claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing generaldescription and the following brief description of the drawings anddetailed description are examples and explanatory of preferredembodiments of the invention, and are not restrictive of presentinvention embodiments, as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Generally, like reference numerals in the various figures are utilizedto designate like components.

FIG. 1A is an illustration showing an example computing environment fora system having disaster recovery capabilities and operating undernormal conditions in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 1B is an illustration showing an example computing environment fora system having disaster recovery capabilities and where a disaster hasoccurred in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1C is an illustration showing an example computing environment fora system having disaster recovery capabilities and where acceleratedrecovery is performed in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2A shows an illustration of an example client system architecturefor providing input data for transactions in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2B shows an illustration of an example primary server systemarchitecture having disaster recovery capabilities in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2C shows an illustration of an example stand-by system architecturefor having disaster recovery capabilities in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2D shows an illustration of an example stand-by system architecturehaving a lightweight database with accelerated disaster recoverycapabilities in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a procedural flowchart showing example operations performed ata stand-by system having accelerated recovery capabilities in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a procedural flowchart showing example operations performed inparallel with the operations of FIG. 3, at a stand-by system havingaccelerated recovery capabilities in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 5 is a procedural flowchart showing example operations performed bya primary system having accelerated disaster recovery capabilities inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a procedural flowchart showing performance of the exampleoperations of FIGS. 4 and 5 to accelerate recovery, in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

High Availability and Disaster Recovery (HADR) solutions are commonlyused to protect against unexpected data outages. Systems deploying HADRtypically involve a primary system and a stand-by system. In the eventof a disaster on the primary site, the stand-by system assumes thecomplete functionality of the primary system. Existing approaches todata recovery may employ a sequential process that involves: (1) backupimage transfer and restoration at the stand-by site (as well as updatingconfigurations of the stand-by database), (2) sending log files from theprimary to the stand-by database, and (3) receiving and replaying logfiles at the stand-by database to bring the stand-by database up-to-datewith the primary database.

The time taken by the above steps can range from several hours toseveral days depending on the volume of data. Furthermore, while thestand-by system is being initialized, the primary system continues toprocess transactions and generate potentially huge amounts of log data.Until the backup image and all log files are transferred to the stand-bysite, the organization does not have HADR protection and is exposed todata loss. Thus, in current approaches, protection against data loss isnot achieved until replay of log files is complete.

According to present invention embodiments, a lightweight database isestablished and log files are shipped to the lightweight database toaccelerate the recovery process. In some embodiments, log files maycomprise data relating to transactions, including, but not limited to,variables, values, record numbers, timestamps, sequence numbers, etc.Present invention embodiments are described in additional detail withreference to the description below and FIGS. 1A-6.

An example environment for use with present invention embodiments isillustrated in FIGS. 1A-1C. Specifically, the environment may includeone or more server systems 120, 130 and 160 and one or more client orend-user systems 110. Server systems 120, 130, 160 and client system 110may be remote from each other and communicate over a network 140. Thenetwork may be implemented by any number of any suitable communicationsmedia (e.g., wide area network (WAN), local area network (LAN),Internet, Intranet, etc.). Alternatively, server systems 120, 130, 160and client systems 110 may be local to each other, and communicate viaany appropriate local communication medium (e.g., local area network(LAN), hardwire, wireless link, Intranet, etc.).

Referring to FIG. 1A, under normal operations, server system 120functions as a “primary” server to process various types oftransactions, e.g., purchases, money withdrawals, etc., based upon inputreceived from client system 110. Results may be stored in database 125.Server system 120 may be in communication with a log archive 145, whichusually is located locally to server system 120. Data associated withone or more transactions may be written to a log file, transmitted aspackets 127, and the log file(s) may be stored on a local disk, e.g.,log archive 145. In addition, packets 127 may be sent to server system130, designated as a “stand-by” server system. In other embodiments, alog archive may be located in a remote system with high speed dataaccess.

A stand-by server typically functions as part of a data loss preventionsystem for disaster recovery and may be located in a differentgeographical location as compared to the primary server. The stand-byserver contains an exact replica of the data, databases, operatingstates, configurations, etc. as the primary server, so that in the eventa disaster occurs at the primary server rendering the primary servernon-functional, client system 110 may be redirected to the standbyserver, and operations may proceed normally.

Client system 110 enables users to input and submit data associated withtransactions (e.g., transactions for financial purposes, transactionsfor testing purposes, transactions associated with any type of database,etc.) to server system 120 to perform transactions, with the outputs ofthe transactions stored in database 125. The server system 120 mayinclude a log file module 20, shown in FIG. 2B, to generate one or morelog files. Server system 120 may also include a backup module 30, alsoshown in FIG. 2B, to create a backup image of database 125.

Client system 110 may present a graphical user (e.g., GUI, etc.) orother interface (e.g., command line prompts, menu screens, etc.) tosolicit information from users pertaining to transactions, and mayprovide reports including results of transactions (e.g., accountbalances, lists of transactions, dates, account summaries, companiesassociated with transactions, etc.).

Database system 125 may store various information pertaining totransactions (e.g., account balances, lists of transactions, timestamps,variables, etc.). The database system 125 may be implemented by anyconventional or other database or storage unit, may be local to orremote from server system 120 and client system 110, and may communicatevia any appropriate communication medium (e.g., local area network(LAN), wide area network (WAN), Internet, hardwire, wireless link,Intranet, etc.). It is understood that database 135, shown as part ofserver system 130, is a replica or mirror of database 125, shown as partof server system 120.

FIG. 1B shows an example of a disaster event at server system 120.Server system 120, and therefore, database 125, which is part of serversystem 120, becomes inaccessible. Accordingly, as database 135 of serversystem 130 is a replica of database 125, server system 130 may now bedesignated as the “Primary” server system, and client system 110 may beconfigured to access server system 130 to conduct ongoing transactions.As shown in FIG. 1B, once server system 130 is designated as the primarysystem, log files corresponding to ongoing transactions may be createdand stored in a local archive, e.g., log archive 155. In this figure,dashed lines correspond to loss of connectivity.

However, protection against data loss has been suspended, as server 130is not in communication with a stand-by system. Until a stand-by system,mirroring the current state of server system 130 is established, dataloss protection will not be available.

Referring to FIG. 1C, an illustration is shown of an example computingenvironment for a system having disaster recovery capabilities and whereaccelerated recovery is performed in accordance with an embodiment ofthe present invention. According to present invention embodiments, inorder to reestablish a stand-by system in an accelerated manner, e.g., astand-by system on server system 160, a backup image of server system130 including database 135 is sent to server system 160, and database135 is restored on server system 160 as database 137. During the timethat the backup image is being restored on server system 160, log filesgenerated from ongoing transactions in server system 130 begin toaccumulate in log archive 155. In order to accelerate the recoveryprocess, lightweight database 170 is instantiated, based upon receivedinformation from server system 130, and is utilized to receive and storelog files from server system 130, as described throughout thespecification. Log files may be stored in a repository, e.g., archive165.

In some embodiments, server 160 may correspond to server 120, e.g., ifserver 120 experiences a hardware failure, server 120 may be repaired,and a new stand-by server system may be implemented on server 120.

Server systems 130, 160 and client system 110 may be remote from eachother and communicate over a network 140. The network may be implementedby any number of any suitable communications media (e.g., wide areanetwork (WAN), local area network (LAN), Internet, Intranet, etc.).Alternatively, server systems 130, 160 and client system 110 may belocal to each other, and communicate via any appropriate localcommunication medium (e.g., local area network (LAN), hardwire, wirelesslink, Intranet, etc.).

Referring to FIGS. 2A-2C, server systems 120, 130, 160 and client system110 may be implemented by any conventional or other computer systempreferably equipped with a display or monitor, a base (e.g., includingat least one processor 15, one or more memories 35 and/or internal orexternal network interfaces or communications devices 25 (e.g., modem,network cards, etc.)), (optional) input devices 65, (optional) monitors55 (e.g., a keyboard, mouse or other input device), and any commerciallyavailable and custom software (e.g., server/communications software,database software, browser/interface software, etc.).

FIG. 2A shows an example of client system 110. In addition to theaforementioned components, client system 110 may include a userinterface 45 for communicating with database 125 of server system 120(or any primary server system). The user interface may be used to enterinput data pertaining to transactions, supply such data to the primaryserver to conduct transactions, and view results from such transactions.

FIG. 2B shows an example of a primary server, e.g., server 120. Inaddition to the aforementioned components, primary server 120 includesdatabase 125, modules 20 and 30, and a local archive 145 for storing logfiles related to transactions. Database 125 may be utilized forconducting transactions requested by client system 110. Modules, such aslog file module 20 and backup module 30 may include one or more modulesor units to perform the various functions of present inventionembodiments described herein. For example, log file module 20 may beused to generate log files containing information pertaining totransactions. The log files may then be transmitted as packets 127 toarchive 145 for local storage and to the stand-by system to protectagainst data loss. Backup module 30 may be used to generate a backupimage of all or a portion of the primary server, including files,operating system information, configuration information, etc. The backupfile may be utilized as part of a disaster recovery process to bring anew stand-by system online. The various modules (e.g., backup module 30,log file module 20, etc.) may be implemented by any combination of anyquantity of software and/or hardware modules or units, and may residewithin memory 35 of the server systems for execution by processor 15 orany other designated memory location.

FIG. 2C shows an example of a stand-by server, e.g., server 130. Inaddition to the aforementioned components, stand-by server 130 mayinclude database 135 (a replica of database 125 of the primary server)for processing log file transactions received from primary server 120.It is understood that in the event the stand-by server becomes theprimary server, transactions may continue to be processed as usual, andlog file generation and backups may continue normally via log filemodule 20, backup module 30, and archive 155.

FIG. 2D shows an example of a new stand-by server being brought online,e.g., server 160, according to present invention embodiments. Inaddition to the aforementioned components, server 160 includes database137, lightweight database 170 and local archive 165. In the event that adisaster occurs at server system 120 and stand-by server system 130 isdesignated as the new primary server, server system 160 may be broughtonline as a new stand-by server. In some embodiments, server system 130may provide information, e.g., configuration information and metadata toinstantiate a lightweight database 170, on server system 160.

Lightweight database 170 may receive log file transactions from server130, and may store these transactions in local memory with regard todatabase 137. Lightweight database 170 may be brought online prior tothe restoration of database 137.

Lightweight database 170 functions to receive logs from the primaryserver, and store the log files, e.g., in a corresponding database logdirectory, on a spool to a different directory, or any other locationdesignated by the lightweight database. Accordingly, lightweightdatabase 170 may begin receiving packets 127 and storing these packetsin local archive 165 prior to database 135 restoration (as database137). Once fully configured, e.g., the database is restored and all logfiles applied, database 137 of server system 160 mirrors database 135,providing disaster recovery capabilities to the system as a stand-bysystem.

Referring to FIG. 3, a flowchart is provided that shows exampleoperations pertaining to establishment of a lightweight database atstand-by server system 160. At operation 310, a metadata file isreceived from server system 130. The metadata file may include database135 information such as identity information, database seed, logsequence number at which the last backup was taken, disaster recoveryconfigurations, etc. The database seed may comprise informationassociated with authentication, e.g., a database identifier, to helpcontrol access to a given database. The disaster recovery configurationmay comprise the host name, port number, service name, or any otherinformation needed to connect with the primary server.

The metadata file may be generated on the primary server and may includethe log shipping position, also referred to as the log sequence number.After lightweight database 170 is set up on stand-by server system 160from the metadata file, a connection is established between the primaryserver and lightweight database 170. Once the connection is established,lightweight database 170 sends the log shipping position to the primaryserver, requesting to initiate data log shipping from a given position,e.g., the position corresponding to the earliest log file, determined bya timestamp or other numeric reference, not included in the backup file.This earliest log file and all subsequently generated log files will notbe present in the backup, and will need to be shipped to lightweightdatabase 170 for replay on the stand-by system. In some embodiments, thelog shipping position included in the metadata file will be based on themost recent backup, provided that the user ships the most recent backupimage to the stand-by server. In other embodiments, the log shippingposition may be based on the backup image shipped, and the user willprovide the path to the backup image to the metadata generation tool. Arequest from the stand-by system to the primary system to initiatetransfer of a plurality of log files may include an initial log fileassociated with the log file identifier (e.g., log shipping position orany other type of log identifier).

In general, the metadata file is a small file that may be quicklytransmitted over a network e.g., a timescale of a few seconds or a fewminutes.

At operation 330, a lightweight database 170 may be initialized basedupon the received metadata file and configuration update information. Atoperation 340, once the lightweight database is online, the lightweightdatabase may receive logs from primary database, in this case, serversystem 130. In some embodiments, log files stored locally to serversystem 130, e.g., in archive 155, may be sent to server system 160. Forexample, using the configuration information in the metadata file, thenew stand-by server system 160 may establish a connection between theprimary server system 130 and the light-weight database 170. Thus, thelightweight database 170 may start receiving logs from the primarysystem before the backup image (corresponding to database 137) has beenfully restored. The log files may be stored in a repository, e.g.,archive 165, local to server system 160 and local to lightweightdatabase 170. At operation 350, acknowledgement of received logs toserver system 130 may be provided to protect database 135 from data lossin the event the primary system fails while the standby is initializing.For instance, the standby system may acknowledge that the log file hasbeen stored to disk, and only after this acknowledgement, does theprimary commit the transaction. As long as the backup image isavailable/accessible to the stand-by system, database 135 may berestored, and by replaying all committed modifications to the primaryserver system, via application of the log files, the stand-by system canbe configured to mirror the primary server system.

Referring to FIG. 4, a flowchart is provided that shows exampleoperations pertaining to establishment of database 137 at stand-byserver 160 after a disaster event. At operation 410, a backup image isreceived and used to restore database 135 (as database 137). This imagemay be sent from server system 130. At this stage, database 137 does notcontain information pertaining to recent transactions, e.g.,transactions that have been processed since the disaster event occurred.Once the database has been restored, the database may start replayinglog records, which are stored locally on the stand-by system, e.g., inarchive 165. In some embodiments, in order to obtain recenttransactional information, a connection is made with the lightweightdatabase 170 at operation 420 to exchange information regarding locationand receipt of log files, e.g., communication may occur using a varietyof protocols, such as a handshaking protocol, etc. In some embodiments,the stand-by server, with the restored backup, will search its localdirectory, a local archive, and/or an archive in which the lightweightdatabase has stored received log files, in order to locate and replayall relevant log files to reach a state without data loss.

At operation 425, once the location of the log files are known, e.g.,via the information in the lightweight database, database 137 may replayeach log file, e.g., in the order that the log files were generated.Once replay of transactions catches up with the most recent transactionthat is being processed on the primary, the stand-by server system maynow receive the log files directly from the primary system, at operation430. At this stage, the stand-by system 160 mirrors server system 130.

Referring to FIG. 5, a flowchart is shown regarding example operationspertaining to initiating a stand-by system, from the perspective ofserver system 130. At operation 510, the metadata file and the mostrecent backup image are sent to the stand-by site, e.g., server 160. Atoperation 520, an (optional) command may be issued to initialize alightweight database. Alternatively, initialization of the lightweightdatabase may be triggered upon receipt of the metadata file and backupimage at the stand-by server system, or initiated by a networkadministrator. At operation 525, an indication is received that thelightweight database is ready to receive log files. At operation 530,logs from transactions locally stored at the primary database are sentto the lightweight database. At operation 540, confirmation oracknowledgement is received, confirming that the transmitted log fileswere received and stored at the stand-by server system. As previouslydiscussed, in some embodiments, transactions are committed to a primarysystem upon confirmation of receipt at a stand-by system. Thelightweight database acknowledges the receipt of log data to the primaryand this protects the database from data loss in the event the primarysystem fails while the standby is initializing. Once all logs have beenreplayed on the stand-by system, transactions may be sent directly todatabase 137 of the stand-by system from the primary system.

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart showing example operations from FIGS. 4 and 5occurring in parallel processes. The reader is referred to FIGS. 4 and 5for details regarding individual operations.

In this example, transfer of the image backup occurs in parallel withtransfer of the metadata file, as shown in operation 510. Transfer ofthe backup completes at operation 512, providing protection against dataloss. While the database 135 is being transferred and restored at thestand-by server at operation 410, log files are shipped to thelightweight database at operation 530.

This flow restores protection against data loss at an earlier stage thanconventional methods, in which protection is restored after databaserestoration is complete. Additionally, it is considerably cheaper from acomputational stand point for the primary system to ship log files, asthe log files are being generated, to the stand-by system (and while thelog files are still in local memory), rather than ship the log files ata subsequent point in time. If log files are read from a disk oraccessed from a non-local archive (e.g., tape or network archive),throughput to applications served by log files would likely be reduced.

Advantages of present invention embodiment include speeding up recoverytime, protecting against data loss while the stand-by system is beinginitialized, and reducing workload on the primary system. For example,recovery time may be improved by shipping logs to a stand-by systemconcurrently with transferring and subsequently restoring the backupimage on the stand-by system. Shipping the logs to the lightweightdatabase as they are generated by the primary database and acknowledgingreceipt prevents against data loss in the event the primary site suffersfrom a catastrophic event while the standby system is being broughtonline. Without present invention embodiments, if the primary were tofail when the standby system was being initialized and brought online,any modifications to the primary site would be lost. Moreover, since theprimary database ships the logs to the stand-by system as the logs aregenerated (and still in memory), computational workload is reduced.Otherwise, the primary system may need to read log files from disk oraccess them from a non-local (e.g., tape and/or network) archive,potentially increasing the time needed to bring a stand-by systemonline.

It will be appreciated that the embodiments described above andillustrated in the drawings represent only a few of the many ways ofimplementing embodiments for accelerating recovery after a disaster.

The environment of the present invention embodiments may include anynumber of computer or other processing systems (e.g., client or end-usersystems, server systems, etc.) and databases or other repositoriesarranged in any desired fashion, where the present invention embodimentsmay be applied to any desired type of computing environment (e.g., cloudcomputing, client-server, network computing, mainframe, stand-alonesystems, etc.). The computer or other processing systems employed by thepresent invention embodiments may be implemented by any number of anypersonal or other type of computer or processing system (e.g., desktop,laptop, PDA, mobile devices, etc.), and may include any commerciallyavailable operating system and any combination of commercially availableand custom software (e.g., browser software, communications software,server software, client software, transactional software, etc.). Thesesystems may include any types of monitors and input devices (e.g.,keyboard, mouse, voice recognition, etc.) to enter and/or viewinformation.

It is to be understood that the software (e.g., transaction software,log file generation module, backup module, etc.) of the presentinvention embodiments may be implemented in any desired computerlanguage and could be developed by one of ordinary skill in the computerarts based on the functional descriptions contained in the specificationand flow charts illustrated in the drawings. Further, any referencesherein of software performing various functions generally refer tocomputer systems or processors performing those functions under softwarecontrol. The computer systems of the present invention embodiments mayalternatively be implemented by any type of hardware and/or otherprocessing circuitry.

The various functions of the computer or other processing systems may bedistributed in any manner among any number of software and/or hardwaremodules or units, processing or computer systems and/or circuitry, wherethe computer or processing systems may be disposed locally or remotelyof each other and communicate via any suitable communications medium(e.g., LAN, WAN, Intranet, Internet, hardwire, modem connection,wireless, etc.). For example, the functions of the present inventionembodiments may be distributed in any manner among the variousend-user/client and server systems, and/or any other intermediaryprocessing devices. The software and/or algorithms described above andillustrated in the flow charts may be modified in any manner thataccomplishes the functions described herein. In addition, the functionsin the flow charts or description may be performed in any order thataccomplishes a desired operation.

The software of the present invention embodiments (e.g., transactionsoftware, log file generation module, backup module, etc.) may beavailable on a non-transitory computer useable medium (e.g., magnetic oroptical mediums, magneto-optic mediums, floppy diskettes, CD-ROM, DVD,memory devices, etc.) of a stationary or portable program productapparatus or device for use with stand-alone systems or systemsconnected by a network or other communications medium.

The communication network may be implemented by any number of any typeof communications network (e.g., LAN, WAN, Internet, Intranet, VPN,etc.). The computer or other processing systems of the present inventionembodiments may include any conventional or other communications devicesto communicate over the network via any conventional or other protocols.The computer or other processing systems may utilize any type ofconnection (e.g., wired, wireless, etc.) for access to the network.Local communication media may be implemented by any suitablecommunication media (e.g., local area network (LAN), hardwire, wirelesslink, Intranet, etc.).

The system may employ any number of any conventional or other databases,data stores or storage structures (e.g., files, databases, datastructures, data or other repositories, etc.) to store information(e.g., transaction data, log file data, image backup data, etc.). Thedatabase system may be implemented by any number of any conventional orother databases, data stores or storage structures (e.g., files,databases, data structures, data or other repositories, etc.) to storeinformation (e.g., transaction data, log file data, image backup data,etc.). The database system may be included within or coupled to theserver and/or client systems. The database systems and/or storagestructures may be remote from or local to the computer or otherprocessing systems, and may store any desired data (e.g., transactiondata, log file data, image backup data, etc.).

The present invention embodiments may employ any number of any type ofuser interface (e.g., Graphical User Interface (GUI), command-line,prompt, etc.) for obtaining or providing information (e.g., transactiondata, account balance data, etc.), where the interface may include anyinformation arranged in any fashion. The interface may include anynumber of any types of input or actuation mechanisms (e.g., buttons,icons, fields, boxes, links, etc.) disposed at any locations toenter/display information and initiate desired actions via any suitableinput devices (e.g., mouse, keyboard, etc.). The interface screens mayinclude any suitable actuators (e.g., links, tabs, etc.) to navigatebetween the screens in any fashion.

The report may include any information arranged in any fashion, and maybe configurable based on rules or other criteria to provide desiredinformation to a user (e.g., dates, transaction ID no, etc.).

The present invention embodiments are not limited to the specific tasksor algorithms described above, but may be utilized for any activitywhich involves database restoration or replication, e.g., setting up atest database. In addition, present invention embodiments may apply to anon-disaster recovery system in which a backup from a productiondatabase is periodically restored to a development system.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”,“comprising”, “includes”, “including”, “has”, “have”, “having”, “with”and the like, when used in this specification, specify the presence ofstated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present invention has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and the practical application, and to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

1-8. (canceled)
 9. A system for restoring data from a first system ontoa second system comprising: at least one processor configured to:receive via a network interface at the second system, a metadata filefrom the first system, and initialize a database on the second systembased on the metadata file; receive an image from the first system, viathe network interface of the second system, and initiate restoration ofthe image on the second system, wherein the image includes informationof the first system to be restored on the second system; receive via thenetwork interface and at the initialized database on the second system,during the restoration of the image on the second system, one or morelog files from the first system indicating transactions performed on thefirst system during the restoration of the image on the second systemand relating to the information to be restored; and perform thetransactions of the log files to synchronize the restored data on thesecond system with the first system, in response to completion of therestoration.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the second system is astandby system and the image includes state information of the firstsystem, and wherein the processor is configured to: configure thestandby system as the first system in response to a failure of the firstsystem.
 11. The system of claim 9, wherein the image includes back-upinformation for a data source, and wherein the processor is configuredto: restore the data source on the second system based on the back-upinformation.
 12. The system of claim 9, wherein the processor isconfigured to: send an acknowledgment from the second system to thefirst system in response to receipt of a log file; and perform an actionof the received log file at the first system upon receiving theacknowledgement from the second system in order to prevent data loss.13. The system of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to:receive at the initialized database on the second system, the one ormore log files as each log file is generated on the first system; storethe one or more log files in memory local to the second system tominimize bandwidth from retrieving the stored log files; and performactions of the one or more stored log files on the second system. 14.The system of claim 9, wherein the metadata file indicates a log fileidentifier, and the processor is configured to: initialize the databaseby sending a request from the database to the first system to initiatetransfer of a plurality of log files from the first system, including aninitial log file associated with the log file identifier and one or moresubsequent log files.
 15. A computer program product for restoring datacomprising a computer readable storage medium having computer readableprogram instructions embodied therewith, the computer readable programinstructions, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to:receive via a network interface at a second system, a metadata file froma first system, and initialize a database on the second system based onthe metadata file; receive an image from the first system, via thenetwork interface of the second system, and initiate restoration of theimage on the second system, wherein the image includes information ofthe first system to be restored on the second system; receive via thenetwork interface and at the initialized database on the second system,during the restoration of the image on the second system, one or morelog files from the first system indicating transactions performed on thefirst system during the restoration of the image on the second systemand relating to the information to be restored; and perform thetransactions of the log files to synchronize the restored data on thesecond system with the first system, in response to completion of therestoration.
 16. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein thesecond system is a standby system and the image includes stateinformation of the first system, and wherein the computer programproduct is configured to cause the processor to: configure the standbysystem as the first system in response to a failure of the first system.17. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein the image includesback-up information for a data source, and wherein the computer programproduct is configured to cause the processor to: restore the data sourceon the second system based on the back-up information.
 18. The computerprogram product of claim 15, wherein the computer program product isconfigured to cause the processor to: send an acknowledgment from thesecond system to the first system in response to receipt of a log file;and perform an action of the received log file at the first system uponreceiving the acknowledgement from the second system in order to preventdata loss.
 19. The computer program product of claim 15, wherein thecomputer program product is configured to cause the processor to:receive at the initialized database on the second system the one or morelog files, as each log file is generated on the first system; store theone or more log files in memory local to the second system to minimizebandwidth from retrieving the stored log files; and perform actions ofthe one or more stored log files on the second system.
 20. The computerprogram product of claim 15, wherein the metadata file indicates a logfile identifier, and wherein the computer program product is configuredto cause the processor to: initialize the database by sending a requestfrom the database to the first system to initiate transfer of aplurality of log files from the first system, including an initial logfile associated with the log file identifier and one or more subsequentlog files.
 21. The system of claim 9, wherein the system for restoringdata from a first system onto a second system is utilized for disasterrecovery.
 22. The system of claim 9, wherein receiving at theinitialized database on the second system one or more log files from thefirst system occurs concurrently with receiving the image from the firstsystem to reduce setup time of the second system.
 23. The computerprogram product of claim 15, wherein the computer program product forrestoring data is utilized for disaster recovery.
 24. The computerprogram product of claim 15, wherein receiving at the initializeddatabase on the second system one or more log files from the firstsystem occurs concurrently with receiving the image from the firstsystem to reduce setup time of the second system.